Franciscan Friar, Sworn To Poverty, Dies With $870,000

July 9, 1986|By JEAN DUBAIL, Staff Writer

For a man sworn to live a life of poverty, Father Angelus DeMarco acquired a lot of worldly goods.

At his death two years ago in Virginia, the Franciscan friar was worth more than $870,000, court documents show. His assets included an oceanfront home in Palm Beach, $115,000 in U.S. Treasury notes, bank accounts totaling almost $290,000, 99 shares of utilities stocks and $100,000 in hidden cash.

That wealth has become the object of a dispute between DeMarco`s family, which was astonished to find he had so much money, and equally astonished officials of the Franciscan order he joined 48 years ago.

The Order of Friars Minor of the Province of the Most Holy Name has sued DeMarco`s estate, claiming his ``solemn vow of poverty`` prohibited him from acquiring property. The friars also claim his property belongs to them.

``The Constitutions of the Plaintiff Franciscan Order provide that whatever property is acquired by a member of the Order must be given over for the use of the Order,`` the suit claims.

Charles Straub, attorney for the New York-based order, would not comment on the suit, nor would John Barrett, attorney for the estate, nor Antony Bufano, DeMarco`s nephew and personal representative of the estate.

Court documents include letters to Barrett from the head of the Franciscan order, Alban Maguire.

The first letter states Maguire`s belief that everything DeMarco owned belonged to the Franciscans. The second, however, denies any intent to pursue ``our rights in the courts.``

``I can only present them and appeal to the conscience of all concerned, `` Maguire wrote.

Court documents also show how Barrett, an old friend of DeMarco`s from the University of Notre Dame, was able to discover how wealthy the friar had been.

DeMarco, formerly a parish priest in Arlington, Va., died Aug. 15, 1984, of a brain tumor. He was 68. He left no will.

Barrett tracked down DeMarco`s family and told them DeMarco had made him trustee for the Palm Beach home and for a bank account containing more than $156,000. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Edward Rodgers appointed Barrett as curator for the estate.

Three weeks after DeMarco`s death, Barrett and three of DeMarco`s friends inspected the Palm Beach home. Barrett outlined his findings in this and other investigations in a series of reports to the judge.

Barrett found, in a safe behind the living-room hearth, seven envelopes and two canvas bags containing $78,000 in cash. Also found were documents leading to a Palm Beach bank, where DeMarco had kept the Treasury notes and a bank account containing $33,000.

In October 1984, on a trip to Virginia, Barrett learned DeMarco had more than $102,000 in an account with a Virginia bank. He also found stock certificates and more than $23,000 in cash stashed in boxes left with DeMarco`s friends.

Still later Barrett discovered DeMarco had lent more than $57,000 to a Virginia couple, a debt eventually repaid to his estate.

By January 1985, Barrett had located assets totaling $873,575.34. The figure did not include the value of art objects found in the Palm Beach home but not yet appraised and sold.

The court file`s only indication of a possible source of DeMarco`s wealth is a letter his nephew, Anthony Bufano, wrote to other family members in January 1985.

Bufano said his mother, Virginia, had worked 13 years for another woman with the understanding the woman would help provide for her retirement and for DeMarco`s. DeMarco`s sister died before her benefactor did, but DeMarco himself eventually inherited $250,000.

DeMarco made a down payment on the Palm Beach home in 1976, Bufano wrote.

Court documents show the purchase price was $115,000. The latest available estimate put the home`s value at $300,000.

Bufano`s letter also notes DeMarco appointed Michael and Mary Norton, a couple who had worked with him in a New Jersey church, as trustees for the home. The Nortons at one point claimed they gave DeMarco the money to buy it, Bufano wrote, but no formal claim was ever filed.

Barrett suggested to Judge Rodgers that some of DeMarco`s money may have been used to buy the Nortons` West Palm Beach home and certificates of deposit in their name. The court file contains no indication that these surmises were confirmed, and the Nortons could not be reached for comment.